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| You are here: Free Beauty Tips > Makeup Tips > 40s Vintage Makeup |
Vintage 1940s Makeup and Fashions that Make a Great
Party Theme or Classic Swing Costume
The 1940's era redefined women and set the stage for later feminist thought on
the history of women. For the first time in the country's history, the average
woman was expected to lead two disparate lives; homemaker and wife of a man at
war, and factory worker. So well had women learned their places that, when the
majority of men went to war, there was no one to work in the factories and
shipyards. It didn't take long for the government to realize that women were the
only way to produce the equipment and supplies needed to run a war. Some women
were delighted to enter the workforce, seeing it as the first time in their
lives that they could achieve economic independence. Other women really believed
that it was unfeminine to work outside the home. They refused to go to work. But
using cajolery, flattery and outright threats, the government sent the women to
work—for the Forties.
Forties Clothing Fashions
Fashion for real women follows function and form. Women were '40s
morale-boosters—dresses had small waists, tight busts and full skirts. Women
were expected to tighten their belts; silk stockings disappeared when silk was
used for parachutes and other wartime items, and women drew lines up the backs
of their legs with eyebrow pencils to simulate stocking seams. Thin figures were
in: shoulder pads made their first appearances on the female figure. Women's
jobs were male jobs—welding and soldering, building and production—so, at work,
they were wearing costumes like coveralls and denims. Many women discovered the
comfort and ease of wearing pants, and actresses like Katherine Hepburn and
Bette Davis made trousers for women into lasting trends.
40’s Swing Dancing Makeup Trends
Makeup was affected by the war, which turned many women's thoughts away from
romance and towards simplicity. Lips were a true, patriotic red; creamy skin was
powdered and smoothly pink. Mascara had founds its place on women's faces,
although it may have been worn more after work. Romance and practicality fought
each other on the home front, where women wanted to look beautiful even whether
swing dancing or working shifts at a shipyard or factory. To make up was a way
of maintaining one's feeling of femininity in a world that was challenging women
to take on more of the man's role than was ever allowed before.
1940s Women’s Hair Styles
Hairstyles were smooth and longer; the pared-down look of the Thirties gave way
to the more romantic, softer look of the War Years. The Bob haircuts
disappeared; women were going for longer locks, even if they did have to be
pinned up at work. Curlers and irons created wavy hair that was pulled away from
the face. Forties' hair styles were glamorous and high maintenance. You could
wear your hair down, with long, rolling curls, like Lauren Bacall, or up for
evening in a chignon with lots of accompanying waves and curls. Fingerwaves and
pincurls were still among the hair designer's repertoire, and many women slept
on curlers or did the dishes with their hair in a bandana to cover the pincurls
drying tightly against the head. And hair color wasn't unheard of: peroxide
became the way to have more fun as women turned blond in salons and at home.
1940's women were asked to do a lot, and working for the war effort took a toll.
But glamour was in, fresh from Hollywood, and women who were earning their first
paychecks were also shopping, dressing elegantly and using cosmetics like movie
stars. Part of the rationale was that the nation's women couldn't afford to look
frumpy in a time of war; the other reason for spending so much time and effort
on one's appearance was to stay somewhat positive and optimistic. "Putting a
brave face on" was more than an interior process: wearing makeup and nice
clothes was a statement of self-worth and confidence.
Vintage party themes or ideas for the '40s decade include the uniformed swing
dance, which mimics dances held in USO canteens throughout the war. Costumes
include military dress uniforms for men, and WAC, WAVE or Red Cross uniforms or
party dresses for women.
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